You don't know what you've got til it's gone!

Good afternoon! First another song for you.


This song always makes me think, but now more than ever. First of all, we have a beautiful forest park close to us, and I went there frequently when the children were small, then someone came in made it a fancy walk and made it much more inaccessible to the locals. Now it costs money just to park there, and all the best walks are now enclosed and cost a ridiculous amount of money to enjoy.


More than that though, I realise time and energy are precious commodities we take so much for granted. When I think on how many things I put off, because the children were small and it took a little more effort to do with little ones. I thought I would have plenty of time and so much more energy to do everything when there were bigger. I should have just gritted my teeth and got on with them. Today's lesson - don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There may not be a tomorrow, or if there is, you might not be in a position to make the most of it.

With that in mind, I went off on a day-trip to the big smoke (Dublin) yesterday. It's about a 5 to 6 hour round trip for me, and I hate the crowds, and the traffic and all the other city hassles. But it was the BT young Scientists Exhibition and it only happens once a year, so I figured hey, it would be good for the kids to see it. My sixteen year-old enjoyed it immensely. My husband and I enjoyed about 50 to 75% of it. We have some very talented young kids in this country and some of the projects were amazing - there were some mathematical ones that just set my mind in a spin, and were so complicated that I just had to move on and I actually quite like maths!  Lots of other ones on food, chemistry, agriculture and social sciences too but I'm not here to give you a run down on that. If you're reading in Ireland though, it's on until tomorrow (10 Jan) and well worth a visit. My two eleven year olds were not so keen though - it was all fact findings and documentation and no real demonstrations to speak of, so they got quite bored. Any dreams I had of them being inspired into the sciences by it were knocked straight on the head!

I'll tell you something though, it was an eyeopener because there were a couple of people there in wheelchairs, and it made me realise I should shut up moaning and get on with living life. So I get a little out of breath or wheezy at times - big deal. There are a hell of a lot worse off than me.

So my thought for the day... this weekend, if you can...go off and do one thing you have been putting on the long finger. The chance might never come again. :)